Sad story out of Harrisonburg, Virginia this afternoon. A 21-year-old engineering student was found dead in the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house after allegedly drinking something called homemade “poppy tea”. According to The Daily Mail, poppy tea is a “a herbal infusion brewed from poppy straw or seeds” that is lethal in high doses and causes a dependency.
Steven Austin Underhill, a junior majoring in engineering with a minor in math, was discovered unresponsive on February 21 at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house on South Main Street in Harrisonburg.
The 21-year-old student had ‘a high dosage of opioids’ in his system from ingesting poppy tea, according to the toxicology report.
The Harrisonburg Police Department warned the public against ingesting poppy tea following Underhill’s tragic death, as it has been described as an intoxicating solution made from common household products, including poppy seeds.
‘This is something new on the local scene that students and parents should be very concerned about,’ Lt. Kurt Boshart said in the statement.
‘It is not illegal to purchase or combine any of the constituent materials, but the end product can produce serious and even deadly reactions in anyone who drinks it.’
Awful. This poppy tea thing needs to go away ASAP, as a few other deaths have been reported in the last few years.
Thoughts go out to Underhill’s family and friends.